Teen snowmobiler dies in Portage crash

PORTAGE, Maine — A 15-year-old Windham boy died Saturday night from injuries he suffered earlier in the day when he crashed his snowmobile into a tree on a marked trail in Portage.

Freezing rain that limited visibility and speed may have been contributing factors, Deborah Turcotte, spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said Sunday evening.

Kyle Rogers was traveling west on ITS 90 in T13 R5 toward Portage when he went off the southwest side of the trail and hit a tree at approximately 3:30 p.m. Saturday, according to Maine Warden Service Lt. Doug Tibbetts.

Tibbetts reported that Rogers was taken by Ashland Ambulance to The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle, and by ambulance to Eastern Maine Medical Center. He was pronounced dead Saturday night.

Rogers was driving a 2004 Arctic Cat 700 Fire Cat on a long, slight corner when the incident occurred. He was the second sled in a group of eight snowmobilers out on the trail. None of the others saw the incident. The teen was wearing a helmet.

The death is the second snowmobile-related fatality in five days. A 19-year-old Cushing man died while riding his snowmobile on a road on Dec. 23.

Warden Dave Milligan and Sgt. Brian Gray also went to the accident scene.